


open your eyes

by alovelylight



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Character Study, Conversations, Developing Relationship, F/M, Madi has a ~crush~, when Silver was healing in maroon island
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 15:28:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13814067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alovelylight/pseuds/alovelylight
Summary: It was an odd feeling. She had never indulged in the attentions of a man before; her mind hadn’t the inclination to take a break and let herself be a girl in love. Not that such an emotion could be anticipated—she may feel a rapport stirring within her towards John Silver, having seen glimpses of his broken parts in the dark, but that didn’t mean she could let her heart run away from her.





	open your eyes

**Author's Note:**

> I love silvermadi and I wish there was more stuff about them. Enjoy!

He was a bruise unto himself, silent in his stubbornness and steel-eyed in his struggle. Madi noticed the fight within him, how he longed for help but could never form the words to ask for it. She was loath to see him in unnecessary pain, and eventually ordered to see he had the right treatment—despite his protestations of appearing weak. could be a leader’s fear of weakness itself; certainly the stench of his prickled pride hadn’t escaped Madi. But there was something more there, buried in the cold stone of him, that struck

Even if his men had left camp with Flint, John Silver still hesitated to bring his armor down. It her as a fight against the unraveling of human weakness.

She had been told she was a keen observer of human nature, yet Silver was at once an enigma and a stolen truth, lost somewhere in the haze of Flint’s storm. She didn’t understand Captain Flint, but it was very clear that a part of Silver’s consciousness was embedded in the tongue of that zealous orator.

“I mean this in the kindest way possible, but will you _please_ stop analyzing me?” he said one day, as she came to check in on him. This had surprised Madi, as Silver barely spoke a word since she insisted he had the right treatment. Nevertheless, the exasperated tone in his voice made her chuckle.

“Why do you suppose that I was analyzing you?”

“Because _I_ was analyzing you, and happened to notice your gaze fixated on me.” Surely the drowsiness of his state of mine had loosened his tongue.

“Is that so?” Madi bit down a smile. “Then I guess we’re equals.”

“I’m not so certain about that,” he drawled. “You’ve commanded my attention ever since I saw you, but you are obligated to focus on me due to my,” his lips twisted into a wry grimace, “deformed conditions.”

She sighed. “Surely you don't believe that your worth is equal to the incidentals of your body?”

“When the world thinks that is the case, I'm bound to think the same.”

“The word of the world isn't final,” she said firmly, coming to sit by his side. “Take that from me.”

He was silent for a few moments. When she thought he wasn't going to indulge her any further, she started to take leave. But then he spoke, “My men think me a savior, but I am just the opposite. I am not the hunter, I am the shark devoured to ensure their survival.”

She frowned. “Does that not mean you are a savior?”

“Perhaps if I had heroic notions I would let myself believe such things,” there was a sardonic sting in his voice that caught her attention.

“If that was meant to be a slight, I do not appreciate it.”

“Not a slight at all. In fact,” he tried to prop himself on his elbow to look at her, “I sometimes wish I had such promise ringing in me.”

“You and your men are now our partners,” she reached out to squeeze his hand, but only brushed her fingers against his. “I'm relying on you to have faith in this cause. The lives of my people depend on it.”

“And you?” he glanced at her. “Do you trust me?” There was a silent plea in his eyes that struck her as utterly fascinating.

“I trust you more than your captain,” she said.

“And how much do you trust my captain?”

She sighed. “Mr Silver, I’ve learned not to offer my trust to men with promises dangling from their lips so hastily. I don’t wish any violent will towards your people, but my father has worked alongside pirates, and I know what they are capable of.” She thought of Silver’s flashes of vulnerability, of his love for his men. “But you stike me as a different sort. And not because of your condition,” she added.

He chuckled drily. “Yes. I’ve often marveled at the position I landed myself in. You know, I never much cared about being a pirate, or the sea, or being a part of something bigger than I am until much recently.”

“So what made you change your mind?”

“By some ironic twist of fate, it seemed I became the voice of the crew. And since we are being brutally honest with each other, they are the only people in this whole fucking world who care whether I am dead or alive.”

“That’s not true.” Overcome by sympathy, she had reached over to touch his cheek without consciously registering the act. “The love of your people are not to be underestimated. The more they need you, the more you need them.”

He seemed to look at her more clearly now, almost as if the sheet of steel had disappeared. “Have you felt that way? That all you hold dear is hanging off the thread of your fingers?”

“My mother has told me she felt such a way,” she smiled, “and I have experienced it, for I know what the future is expecting of me. It _is_ hard to admit my own weaknesses and realize that I don’t have all the answers. But I suppose, well, I have enough faith in myself to know that I was meant to lead. It’s my destiny.”

“I cannot afford to believe in destiny. But I _do_ believe in you.”

“And why would that be?” She was curious to know; he intrigued her like no other.

“Ever since I saw you, I got a feeling that were you in my shoes, you wouldn’t hide your broken parts. So, thank you.”

“I’m glad I can be of help.” It suddenly surprised Madi, how immensely she enjoyed his company and how much she didn’t want to leave him just then. She could also tell that he felt the same, for he looked at her with that clever, attuned gaze that made her feel at once bare and protected.

It was an odd feeling. She had never indulged in the attentions of a man before; her mind hadn’t the inclination to take a break and let herself be a girl in love. Not that such an emotion could be anticipated—she may feel a rapport stirring within her towards John Silver, having seen glimpses of his broken parts in the dark, but that didn’t mean she could let her heart run away from her.

But nevertheless, there was a part of her mind that just hoped he could surprise her in that regard. 


End file.
